Got. To. Have. One.

You know that I have posted previously about the wondrousness that is the world of anti-personnel mines - my favorite of course being the M18A1 Claymore, which includes the helpful instruction of "Front Towards Enemy."

I know it is wrong to covet. But Quantico Tactical is one of those great stores that you just feel compelled to support, and the ad I got today in an email is just one of those "must have" occasions. Imagine how cool it would be to have your very own Claymore attached to the receiver hitch on the back of your car. Well, thanks to the brilliant folks at QTS, here's your chance:

My order's been placed. Support your local "hero store" and order one today.

Firsts

Happy Birthday, son. Can't believe it has been a whole year.

More Fun With Jack

Since Jack has learned to walk, he has developed several interesting habits. Take, for instance, the thing he likes most to do in the morning while we are getting ready for work (Doc) and school (me). He wanders around, pulling things out of containers and off shelves, sometimes with the exploratory chew. Then he wanders into the bathroom, where he heads directly for the toilet paper roll mounted on the wall:

Number Two

For all of our faithful readers, we have some great news: we are expecting Number Two in early August 2010. My, how quickly two becomes five (I insist we count Dean as a family member). Here's a pic of the little lad / lass:

We are understandably excited about this terrific news, and on the ultrasound he/she looks like a vigorous little creature. We'll keep you updated with more info as it becomes available.

Best regards,

The (slightly larger) Shaw Family

Last First Day of School

I got started off this morning with an introduction to the Law of Remedies, or more precisely “The means by which a legal right is enforced, or the manner by which a violation of a legal right is prevented, redressed, vindicated or compensated.” Fun stuff.

As I sat there, it occurred to me (mainly by noticing everyone else's Facebook and Twitter posts) that this is my last First Day of School. Kind of a milestone, and while no one knows what fate and happenstance may bring, I expect I will not find myself sitting in a classroom again as a student for quite some time. I have to say, both the intellectual pursuits and the pace of life these last three years have been a treat and I have tried hard to enjoy this phase of my life.

Bar prep starts Tuesday and late July will begin looming over the horizon. But for now -particularly after a wonderfully tasty gyro at Jack's Corner Grille with Doc - this has been a pretty good day.

Playing with Trucks

Honk if you like Trucks.

Jack likes Trucks.

A lot.

Hillbilly Bone

I am glad that we have a very tolerant dog. Dean is, well - he's special. He's smart (but not all the time) and he is obedient (some of the time) and graceful (hardly ever). But at the very least, he is tolerant of the growing interactions between him and his little brother from a different mother.

For instance, when he was just a pup I taught him to calmly play catch while laying on the floor across the room from me. He lays there and I roll the tennis ball towards his snout. He catches it, chews on it a bit and rolls it back in my general direction. He'll do this for about a half hour before he starts to lose interest (which is about 5 times longer than I'm willing to do it). Recently, this dog-bility has worked well with Jack's newfound penchant for throwing things. Jack sits on the ground and rolls the ball to Dean; Dean rolls it back to Jack. This usually only lasts for a few minutes, since Jack's new throwing skills usually end up in a errant toss behind his back or over his head (we're still working on his release timing).

Last Saturday, we were sitting on the floor playing and watching hunting shows on VersusTV (which is fast becoming our Saturday morning routine when Doc is working). We topped it off with a little country music in the background. So it was fitting that Jack and Dean's newest game - Dog Bone Keep Away - was fit to the soundtrack of Hillbilly Bone by Blake Shelton. Jack would taunt Dean with the bone, Dean would lick it and try to take it away. Then Jack would triumphantly remove it from Dean's snout. And then try to lick it himself (but I stopped the game right there). For most dogs, I think the kids life might have been in peril at that point, but not with Dean. Good dog, indeed.

The Fall Guy

Anybody remember The Fall Guy? I am certain that this was one of my favorite shows growing up, and not just because of Heather Thomas.

I mean, forget all the reality shows on TV today - this was a story about real life the way it is supposed to be: about a guy (Colt Seavers) that grows up to be a Stunt Man and a Bounty Hunter, with a faithful sidekick, a smokin' hotgirlfriend, and a 1981 GMC 4x4 truck with a 6" lift, chrome roll bar and brush guard, Warn winch, and 35-inch Dick Cepek

off-road tires mounted on a 16-inch chrome wagon style wheel. Awesome.

By the way, re-runs of this show (although I am pretty sure I remember some originals - it didn't go off the air after the '86 season) are one of the only things that saved me after they pulled the Dukes of Hazzard.

Well, I am starting to think that Jack would like to grow up to be the Fall Guy's successor. He seems to have a natural predisposition for crashing into things - deliberately. Just check out this video clip:

I even caught him humming the tune to the title track the other day.

Well, I'm not the kind to kiss and tell,
But I've been seen with Farrah.
I've never been with anything less than a nine, so fine.
I've been on fire with Sally Field,
Gone fast with a girl named Bo.
But somehow they just don't end up as mine.
It's a death-defyin' life I lead,
I take my chances.
I die for a livin' in the movies and TV.
But the hardest thing I ever do is watch my leading ladies
Kiss some other guy while I'm bandagin' my knee.
I might fall from a tall buildin',
I might roll a brand-new car.
'Cause I'm the unknown stuntman
That made Redford such a star.
I've never spent much time in school,
But I've taught ladies plenty.
It's true I hire my body out for pay,
A hey, hey!
I've gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs,
Blown up for Raquel Welch,
But when I wind up in the hay, it's only hay,
A hey hey!
I might jump an open drawbridge,
Or Tarzan from a vine,
'Cause I'm the unknown stuntman
That makes Eastwood look so fine.

Late night motivation

On nights like tonight, when I'm 20 hours in to a 24+ hour shift, it's the image of my sweet little boy sitting on the mat at daycare today, banging two blocks together and throwing his head back with peels of laughter with each clang, that gets me through. That and the thought of walking in the back door to the welcoming arms of all my boys, still in their pjs, cooking a grand breakfast feast to the smooth voice of Ella or Louis. If one kid is this much fun, is two simply exponentially better?

"Three Lessons of Fatherhood" and "Lost In Space"

1. Feeding bananas to a toddler, particularly as a matter of habit, has a fairly substantial constipating effect;

2. Not feeding bananas to a toddler for approximately two days substantially diminishes the aforementioned effect;

3. "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!"

Walking Tall

Over the last few days, Jackson's walking aptitude has really progressed. Monday, he accidentally took four steps after letting go of the ottoman, before crashing into my lap. Tuesday, something clicked and he purposefully let go and triumphantly took those same four steps, to the tune of a half-dozen iterations.

And tonight, he ran circles around his room and the den, opening and closing the door, climbing over the dog, and every now and then crossing from one part of the room to the other, laughing and smiling with newfound glee. I think he is about to go on a tear.

My Pirate...Argggg!

Lego Time

Do you realize how fun it is to play with Legos? Why did I ever grow up and go to law school, when I could have been staying home playing with these multi-colored snap-together wonders of modern engineering?

Look what I built last night:

Jack helped me take it apart later - it turns out that is his specialty. It's funny, he seems to have a peculiar disposition that requires things to not stay connected, stored, boxed or in place. From the very minute we got him some toy blocks, he was just totally dissatisfied when the blocks were in their container and he had to take them out. Same deal with the Legos - it his absolute mission to disconnect each and every one from the other. We though it was a great idea to get these neat storage baskets that fit right under the changing table, so we could store extra diapers and wipes and stuff. Apparently, the only thing that is an even better idea is whatever gets in Jack's head when we put him on the floor - he heads right for them with his gimp-legged little gangster lean and triumphantly pulls out the baskets, emptying their contents all over the floor.

Between that and Legos, I hope he finds his calling. I'm thinking demolition.

Mmmm... Donuts!

Jack came home from daycare yesterday in quite a different outfit than he went away in. For an 11-month old, this is not entirely out of the ordinary. I think it was Ronald Reagan that said "Government is much like an Infant - just one big alimentary canal with an insatiable appetite on one end, and very little discipline at the other."

It was out of ordinary curiosity that I asked what my wunderkind had gotten into this day. Miss Vickie belted out a laugh, and informed me that it had been another little fellow's birthday, and to celebrate a whole passel of Krispy Kreme doughnuts had been trucked in for the kiddies. Unfortunately for his peers, I think Jackson quickly discovered the glory of Krispy Kremes and apparently left "no crumb uneaten," to such an extreme that he was so soiled with sugary goo that he needed a new outfit in order to carry on.

Weekend with Mom

Stephen spent this beautiful snowy weekend in Washington DC so Jack and I got to have two entire days all to ourselves. My, what one can learn in a weekend...

I don't know if it's just that Jack is growing at lightning speeds or I haven't really had the chance lately to spend 48 straight hours completely dedicated to being with him, but I swear I learned so much about him this weekend that I didn't know.

For starters, he can walk. Well, sort of. He can take a few unassisted steps before lunging at his stuffed animals...or me. He can sing. We were watching Faith Hill's Christmas Special and I realized as I was humming along that he was too. He can spin in circles on his bum. For hours. He loves, and I mean loves, to hear me make animal noises. Quack quack is his favorite. Arf arf is second. He smiles

with all of his teeth, now, and he gives of that smile freely. He will never go outside a 20 foot radius from me although he likes to get just out of sight long enough for me to say, "Where's Jack?" and he comes flying around the corner and into my lap. He needs periodic and regular hugs, about every 5-1o minutes. When upset, he has to be sitting in my lap. Not just touching me or sitting next to me, but on my lap squarely. If he's really upset, whilst on my lap, he needs to suck his thumb and hold his monkey at the same time for at least 1 minute.

He giggles at himself (or something that none of the rest of us can see) all the time. When he concentrates, he breathes very loudly and deliberately out of his nose and then laughs about it. He can say "Ma-ma" "Dad-dee" "Da-da" "Dean-Da" and "neh neh" (which is "more"). He loves to look out the window and watch birds or people or just the wind blow through the trees. He is very tenderhearted and likes constant reassurance. He understands "no no" and will almost always obey it after the 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) "did you really mean no, exactly?"

attempt. And when he goes back to said "no no" object after a few minutes, he always looks at me first to be sure I still mean it.

He loves my cell phone and now when I say, "Can you call Daddy?" he will put it up to his ear and smile. He will throw a ball back and forth for upwards of 5 minutes, which is an eternity for a 10 month old. He will even add Dean into the throwing party and Dean will very politely sit and roll it back. Speaking of Dean, he likes to share his food with him, either by handing it to him or letting Dean eat it out of his mouth. He likes to get my attention by saying, "Aya ya ya!" and

laughing when I look over at him and say, "Is that so?" He loves bath time but isn't a big fan of teeth-brushing time. He will take a nap without a fuss as long as I put two books in his crib with him. He likes to flirt with ladies at the store, especially the large ones.

I know he is only 10 months old, but I can already see the kind of person he is going to become and it is exactly like his father. His heart is big and soft. He thrives on affection and sweet conversation. He does not like to have someone cross with him. He will be funny and love to laugh. He will be awkward at first and because of that he will need some help to be as confident as he can be. He will never be arrogant. He will always need my hugs. At least I hope so.

I love you, Jackson. More today than yesterday and more tomorrow than ever before. Thank you for such a wonderful weekend.